Bill Macy is an American actor of television, film and stage. He
first came to the attention of public during the late 1960s and early
1970s as an original cast of the long running theatrical revue “Oh!
Calcutta!”. He also appeared in other off-Broadway productions
such as “The Threepenny Opera,” “The Balcony,”
“America Hurrah” and “Awake and Sing!”as well
as on Broadway plays like Neil Simon's “I Ought to Be in
Pictures,” “Once More,” “And Mrs. Reardon
Drinks a Little” and

“The Roast.” Macy, however, did not gain much notices
until he landed the role of long suffering husband Walter Findlay, on
the popular television sitcom “Maude” (CBS, 1972-1978).
He received a 2004 TV Land nomination in the category of Favorite
Cantankerous Couple for his performance in the show. After “Maude,”
he starred in the short lived sitcoms “Hanging In” (1979)
and “Nothing in Common” (1987), in addition to making
guest appearances in countless shows. On the silver screen, Macy
earned a NYFCC nomination for his supporting role on the Oscar
nominated comedy “The Late Show” (1977). Other films he
has acted in include “The Jerk” (1979), “My
Favorite Year” (1982),“The Doctor” (1991), “Me,
Myself and I” (1992), “Analyze This” (1999),
“Surviving Christmas” (2004), “The Holiday”
(2006) and “Mr. Woodcock” (2007).

Wolf Marvin Garber

Childhood and Family:

Bill Macy was born Wolf Marvin Garber on May 18, 1922, in Revere,
Massachusetts. His father, Michael Garber, was a manufacturer. His
mother's name is Mollie.

Bill married his wife Samantha Harper on May 4, 1975.

Oh! Calcutta!

Career:

Bill Macy assumed several entertainment jobs like poetry reading,
comedy record and movie bits as well as performed in off-Broadway
stage plays. His first big break arrived when he was cast alongside
Raina Barrett, Mark Dempsey, Katie Drew-Wilkinson, Boni Enten, Alan
Rachins, Leon Russom, Margo Sappington, Nancy Tribush and George
Welbes in the avant-garde theatrical revue revue “Oh!
Calcutta!,” created by British drama critic Kenneth Tynan. The
musical opened off-Broadway at the Eden Theatre on June 17, 1969,
transferred to the Belasco Theatre on February 17, 1971, and closed
on August 12, 1972 after a total of 1,314 performances.

Macy made his television debut in 1966 as a cab driver in an
episode of “The Edge of Night.” He debuted on the big
screen two years later with an uncredited part as Jury Foreman in
“The Producers,” a comedy/music film written and directed
by Mel Brooks. Macy went on to guest star in “N.Y.P.D.”
(1969) and “All in the Family” (1972) and appeared in the
theatrical released of “Oh! Calcutta!” (1972).

Macy's huge break on television came when he landed the role of
the title character's husband, household appliance store owner
Walter Findlay, on the Norman Lear created sitcom “Maude,”
starring Beatrice Arthur. He remained with the show throughout its
six year run on the CBS network from September 12, 1972 to April
22, 1978. Later, in 2004, he was nominated for a TV Land Award in the
category of Favorite Cantankerous Couple for his work. While working
on the show, Macy also acted in the made for TV films “All
Together Now” (1975, starred John Rubinstein, Glynnis O'Connor
and Brad Savage), “Death at Love House” (1976, starred
Robert Wagner, Kate Jackson and Sylvia Sidney) and “Diary of a
Young Comic” (1977, starred Richard Lewis, Dom DeLuise and
George Jessel). He gained notice on the wide screen with his turn as
Charlie Hatter in the Robert Benton “The Late Show”
(1977), opposite Art Carney and Lily Tomlin. The role also brought
him a New York Film Critics Circle nomination for Best Supporting
Actor.

After the cancellation of “Maude,” Macy resurfaced on
the small screen when he played the supporting role of Frank Wallach
on the CBS television film “The Fantastic Seven” (1979),
starring Christopher Connelly, Christopher Lloyd and Bob Seagren.
Later that same year, he was cast in the leading role of Louis
Harper, a former pro football star who becomes president of fictional
Braddock College, on the short lived sitcom “Hanging In,”
executive produced by Norman Lear. The show premiered CBS on August
9, 1979 and was canceled after four episodes aired. Still in 1979, he
delivered an unforgettable performance as Stan Fox, the co-inventor
of the 'Opti-grab' in the Steve Martin comedy vehicle “The
Jerk,” directed by Carl Reiner. In 1980, Macy appeared on Neil
Simon's play “I Ought to Be in Pictures” on Broadway, for
which he played Herb, had a supporting role on the Bill Persky comedy
film “Serial,” opposite Martin Mull, Tuesday Weld and
Jennifer McAllister, and starred as Myron Selznick on the NBC telepic
“The Scarlett O'Hara War,” alongside Tony Curtis and
Harold Gould. He supported Peter O'Toole, Mark Linn-Baker and Jessica
Harper in the comedy film “My Favorite Year” (1982),
worked with Blanche Baker, Franklin Cover and Richard Crenna in the
NBC made for TV film “The Day the Bubble Burst” (1982),
portrayed Sid Spokane in William Asher's comedy, “Movers &
Shakers” (1985), starring Walter Matthau, Charles Grodin and
Vincent Gardenia, co-starred in Harvey Miller's “Bad Medicine”
(1985), opposite Steve Guttenberg, Alan Arkin and Julie Hagerty, and
played Richard Wilson in the TV film “Perry Mason: The Case of
the Murdered Madam” (1987), starring Raymond Burr as Mason. He
landed recurring roles on such television series as the 1980s ht
medical drama “St. Elsewhere” (1984, as Hershel
Millstein), “L.A. Law” (1986, as Irving Lewis) and “One
Big Family” (1986-1987, as Larry Collins), and made a number of
guest appearances during the 1980s, including “Hotel”
(1983, as Herman Wells), “Riptide” (1985, as 1985),
“Hardcastle and McCormick” (1985, as Art Healy), “
You Are the Jury” (1986, as Frank Mantalbano), “Starman”
(1987, as Naughton Wells), “The Facts of Life” (1988, as
Harold), “ Highway to Heaven” (1988, as Max), “Murder,
She Wrote” (1989, as Uncle Ben Mayberry) and “The Famous
Teddy Z” (1989). Macy returned to series television as a
regular when he portrayed Max Basner on the television adaptation of
“Nothing in Common” (1987), a role originated by Jackie
Gleason in the original film. The show, however, was soon canceled
due to poor ratings.

Macy only appeared in five films during the 1990s, including a
turn in the made for television film “Anna” (1990), with
Maria Charles, Keith Diamond and Tom La Grua. He reunited with
director Carl Reiner for the comedy film “Sibling Rivalry”
(1990), starring Kirstie Alley, Bill Pullman and Carrie Fisher,
worked with William Hurt, Christine Lahti and Elizabeth Perkins in
the Randa Haines directed drama “The Doctor” (1991) and
portrayed Sydney in the comedy film “Me, Myself and I”
(1992), starring JoBeth Williams, George Segal and Don Calfa. He
resurfaced as Dr. Isaac Sobel in “Analyze This” (1999),
a comedy/crime film directed by Harold Ramis and starred Robert De
Niro, Billy Crystal and Lisa Kudrow. It marked his last film in the
decade. Meanwhile, Macy made guest appearances in numerous television
series, including “Matlock” (1991), “Middle Ages”
(1992), “Columbo” (1993), “Viper” (1994), “
Dave's World” (1994), “Diagnosis Murder” (1994),
“NYPD Blue” (1995), “Hudson Street” (1995),
“Chicago Hope” (1996), “ Seinfeld” (1996),
“Ned and Stacey” (1996), “ The Home Court”
(1996), “The John Larroquette Show” (1996), “Promised
Land” (1997), “Millennium” (1998), “ Two
Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place” (1998), “Norm”
(1999) and “Jack & Jill” (1999).

Entering the new millennium, Macy appeared as Mr. Foley in an
episode of the NBC hit drama “Providence” called “Taking
a Chance on Love” (2000), Walter Titlebaum in an episode of
CBS' “Touched by an Angel” named “Reasonable Doubt”
(2000) and Mr. Dimsdale in the episode “Diagnosis: Jimmy”
(2001) of “ The Lone Gunmen,” a short lived spin off from
“The X-Files.” He also appeared in the ABC sitcom “My
Wife and Kids” (2002, as a Drive Thru Attendant), “ER”
(2004, as Richard Gould), “LAX” (2004, as Martin), “
Stacked” (2005, as Charlie) and “Las Vegas” (2006,
as Sharkey Rosenthal). In 2004, Macy made his return to features when
he was cast as Doo-Dah in “Surviving Christmas,” a comedy
film directed by Mike Mitchell and starring Ben Affleck. He then
appeared in the made for television film comedy “Early Bird”
(2005) and portrayed Ernie in the box office hit comedy “The
Holiday” (2006), which was directed and written by Nancy Meyers
and starred Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law and Jack Black.

Macy was cast as Mr. Woodcock's father in the 2007 comedy film
“Mr. Woodcock,” starring Billy Bob Thornton as Jasper
Woodcock. The same year, he also guest starred in “ My Name Is
Earl” (as Whiskey Pete) and “Back to You” (as
Troy). Three years later, a 88 year old Macy appeared as Mr. Rickles
in an episode of the TNT medical drama series “Hawthorne”
called “No Exit.”